5 Worst Backdoor Pilots, Ranked

Spinoffs are the life-blood of television, and there's no easier way to introduce a spinoff than with a backdoor pilot to get audiences invested before the pilot even airs. A backdoor pilot is when an existing TV series uses an episode to set up characters, settings, and situations that could function as an entertaining show separate from the original program. It's a good way to test whether audiences are interested in these new characters before committing to a full season order. 

Some great TV shows started as backdoor pilots. In fact, the classic "All in the Family" launched several successful series, namely "The Jeffersons" and "Maude," through special episodes. Meanwhile, "NCIS" has created a whole universe of spinoffs, but even that show began as a "JAG" backdoor pilot initially. 

While we remember the good times, not every attempt of a new show is met with acclaim. It goes without saying that the worst backdoor pilots of all time didn't even get a new series. As such, they now exist as awkward filler episodes that focus on different characters for no reason. When a backdoor pilot fails, it takes away precious screen time from the folks we know and love. 

These are the worst backdoor pilots that now have no reason to exist and ruin any binge-watch of their respective series.

When a popular series is coming to an end, it makes sense for the network to figure out a way to squeeze it for all its worth and look into spinoffs. For "The Office," that meant a potential new show focused on Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and his eclectic family members living on the family farm. Season 9, Episode 17 — "The Farm" — largely takes us away from Dunder-Mifflin so that Dwight can reunite with his family members, like his sister Fannie (Majandra Delfino) and his brother Jeb (Thomas Middleditch). Their aunt has willed them her farm following her death, on the condition they take care of it. Even though Fannie and Jeb aren't interested, Dwight convinces them to give it a shot.

One issue with a lot of terrible backdoor pilots is that they occur in a show's final season. Rather than getting one last hurrah with the characters we love, we take a boring excursion elsewhere. Dwight serves as an expository device to explain everything and everyone within the Schrute family. Dwight's family just aren't as engaging as the Dunder-Mifflin employees. Rainn Wilson's memorable paper salesman functions better as an eccentric co-worker than a leading man. It's no wonder NBC cancelled "The Farm" before it could get going. 

To be fair, "The Office" had a lackluster first season. It's possible "The Farm" could've found its footing later on, but that backdoor pilot didn't raise anyone's confidence. "The Farm" needed to keep Dwight ridiculous and provide him with more sane people to bound off of. As it stands, even Wilson is relieved NBC passed on it. 

"Gilmore Girls" is the ultimate cozy show. Stars Hollow just feels warm, in stark contrast to Venice Beach, California, which is warm in another, less cozy way. That's a big problem with the Season 3 episode, "Here Comes the Son." Much of the runtime is dedicated to Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) travels to California to reconnect with his estranged father. To borrow from internet parlance, the vibes are all off, and it's one of the worst "Gilmore Girls" episodes around.

Jess is one of the more complex characters on the show, yet "Here Comes the Son" surrounds him with two-dimensional caricatures. His father, Jimmy (Rob Estes), is the least nuanced version of a deadbeat dad in media. The entire episode becomes a moot point, because there's no relationship to root for, and viewers don't want Jess living with this jerk. None of the other secondary characters fare much better, especially Jimmy's girlfriend Sasha (Sherilyn Fenn), who feels like a poor stand-in for Lorelai (Lauren Graham). 

Of course, this departure was meant to serve as a backdoor pilot for a spinoff called "Windward Circle" that would've continued Jess' adventures in California. But it never happened, and in Season 4, Jess returns to Stars Hollow. It's one of the more egregious unresolved plotlines in "Gilmore Girls" since Jess never mentions what happened in California between him and his dad. Even without a spinoff, audiences at least could've gotten an update as to whether the two fixed their relationship. 

Toward the tail-end of "Gossip Girl" Season 2, there were a lot of important storylines to cover. For starters, the main cast is going to prom, and there's still the matter of the Ponzi scheme from Poppy Lifton (Tamara Feldman) to take care of. So in the second-to-last episode of the season, "Valley Girls," it's a little baffling to dedicate so much time to flashbacks for a proposed spinoff of the same name. 

Much of the episode focuses on Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford) as a teenager ("Pitch Perfect" co-star Brittany Snow). She gets thrown out of boarding school, and instead of going back to her rich parents, she stays with her sister, Carol (Krysten Ritter). It's really a case of poor timing, as maybe this story could've played better if it was anywhere else in the season. But it disrupts the flow right when things are heating up, so it's even more annoying to have to deal with these characters we've never seen before interrupting everything.

The CW passed on "Valley Girls" before the "Gossip Girl" episode even aired, which makes the episode all the more frustrating. The prom storyline deserved to have more time to get fleshed out, and maybe "Valley Girls" would've fared better if it was allowed to merely be its own thing. But a surefire way to ruin a backdoor pilot is to Frankenstein it together with a story fans actually want to see. 

"Arrow" wasn't incapable of delivering a satisfactory backdoor pilot. Season 2 of the show introduced Barry Allen, aka the Flash (Grant Gustin), and he went on to have a very successful series all his own. Even his backdoor pilot works well, as Barry and Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) have great chemistry. Plus, Barry establishes himself as a fun character who can exist in the Arrowverse with his own adventures. 

The same can't be said of Season 8's "Green Arrow & the Canaries." Keep in mind, this is the second-to-last episode of the entire series. But Amell was only signed for nine episodes for the final season, so writer Marc Guggenheim came up with a plot that didn't require the literal main character. It's set in the future after Oliver sacrificed himself to save the multiverse, but three heroes, including Oliver's daughter Mia (Katherine McNamara), will rise to protect this world from emerging threats. 

Maybe it would've been best to simply stick with nine episodes and get "Arrow" over with. The Arrowverse was already in the midst of a slow, agonizing death by the time the episode came out in 2020. Within the next few years, The CW would cancel its other Arrowverse shows like "The Flash," "Legends of Tomorrow," and "Batwoman." A prospective "Green Arrow & the Canaries" never had a chance, and even if it did get picked up, it wouldn't have lasted more than a couple of seasons. It's a futile effort to breathe life into a TV universe that was already dying.

When it comes to the worst backdoor pilots ever, the conversation begins and ends with "The Brady Bunch" episode, "Kelly's Kids." The titular Brady family is hardly seen, as we instead focus on family friends Ken (Ken Berry) and Kathy Kelly (Brooke Bundy), who decide to adopt a son. Instead of just getting the one kid, they also adopt his two friends, who are Black and Asian. This puts them at odds with their racist neighbor, and eventually, the three kids try to run away from home.

If you're thinking that's a lot of story to cram into 22 minutes, you're right. It's no wonder there's no room for the Bradys, as the plot has to move at a breakneck pace to cram in all of the pertinent plot points. It's noble for a TV show in the 1970s to try to work in themes of racial prejudice, but the racist neighbor feels at odds with the normally easygoing tone of "The Brady Bunch." By the way, the Kellys were completely new characters. Maybe a backdoor pilot concept would've gone down easier if these were established characters, but viewers are suddenly forced to care about this new family they'd never met before. 

The concept of a white couple adopting children of different races would get used in another Sherwood Schwartz sitcom, "Together We Stand," which was later retitled to "Nothing Is Easy" and starred a young Ke Huy Quan. Any backdoor pilot is a tall ask of fans who just want to see another adventure with their favorite characters but instead get something completely different. Bare minimum: It's a good idea to at least incorporate the main characters in an exciting or interesting way.